 | | Head football coach Guy Morriss will stop by for a live chat Tuesday, April 11 at 11 a.m. CDT. |
The Baylor football team will wrap up its fourth spring training camp under head coach Guy Morriss with its annual Green vs. Gold game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium. Morriss experienced the most success at Baylor in a decade with a 5-6 2005 campaign. Baylor's 12 selections to the All-Big 12 Team were the most for the Bears since the league's inception. In addition, 21 Bears have been named to the Acadmeic All-Big 12 Team. In 2004, led the Baylor football to a 3-8 record in his second season as head coach, including a thrilling 35-34 overtime victory over No. 16 Texas A&M. Under Morriss' guidance, five players were named to both the 2004 AP and Coaches' All-Big 12 Conference teams and nine players earned all-academic honors. Sophomore Daniel Sepulveda also earned the Ray Guy Award as the nation's top punter. Morriss came to Baylor with 14 years of experience as a coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He spent 18 years in the National Football League, where he was an All-Pro player, played in two Super Bowls and coached for three seasons. Morriss arrived in Waco from Lexington, Ky., where he spent six seasons helping to turn around the Wildcat football program - the last two as head coach. In 2002, Kentucky turned some heads with a 7-5 record, including wins over Mississippi State, eventual SEC West Division champion Arkansas and 17th-ranked Louisville. The seven-win season in 2002 was only the fifth since 1955 for Kentucky, which received votes in the AP Top 25 poll. UK's defeats included a four-point setback vs. South Carolina, a seven-point loss at then-No. 7 Florida and an unbelievable three-point defeat on the final play vs. then-No. 17 LSU. In Morriss' two seasons as head coach at Kentucky, 10 Wildcat players earned All-SEC recognition and two were named All-American. In his six seasons, four UK offensive linemen were selected first-team All-SEC and three earned freshman All-America honors. |
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 |  | Guy Morriss: Sorry for a little bit of a late start, but thanks for joining me today. |
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| Damien (Temple): Coach, thank you for all the fantastic work so far, I'm really looking forward to following the team to a bowl game next season. My question: Any word on wether Braelon Davis will be back with the team in the fall? |
| | Guy Morriss: At this point in time, we anticipate that Braelon will be with us when fall camp begins in August. Thanks for the question. |
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| DALLAS: HOW DO YOU THINK THE TEAM WILL RESPOND THIS YEAR AFTER LAST YEAR'S 5-6 RECORD? |
| | Guy Morriss: They had a good spring and are hungry for even more success this year. I think they're committed to working hard in the offseason and being ready for the opener against TCU. |
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| Arturo Salinas, Eagle Pass, Texas: First and foremost THANK YOU for you excellent work and dedication to reviving this program. Of the incoming freshman class, who do you expect to immediately contribute on the field similar to what Carl Sims and Queito Teasley did last year? |
| | Guy Morriss: A handful of the wide receivers, because they have all the physical requirements already. All they have to do is learn the offense, find some open turf and settle in it. |
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| Doug (DFW): I don't like circling dates on a schedule, but it seems that TCU may be our biggest game of impact on this year's schedule... recruiting, private school dominance, beating a ranked team in a weaker conference, momentum etc. How will you work with BOTH the players and coaches to place the appropriate amount of emphasis on this game, while keeping everyone loose? Will you use one approach with the team and a different one with the coaching staff? |
| | Guy Morriss: I think we're going to coach them hard as a staff and they understand the importance of this game. It's a key, but we won't cut our wrists if we don't win it. I think the defense is going to have to carry us a little bit early as we transition into this new offense. |
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| Jerry (Waco): Assess the O-line for 2006. What is their potential and what are your expectations? |
| | Guy Morriss: The starting five could be pretty good if they can overcome my coaching. Depth becomes a problem again in general. We've got some younger guys with talent, but need to get stronger in the weight room and get some experience. I expect them to battle every play. |
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| Shawn (San Antonio): Are we going to see more of the Green helmets this season? I don't know about other fans or any of the players but I see the new color helmets as kind of shedding of the old stigma of Baylor football and putting on a new face that reflects the recent success of the program and a sign of the bright future ahead. I think the new helmets help people perceive Baylor football in a new way and hope to see more of them next year. |
| | Guy Morriss: We plan on wearing both helmets again this year. |
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| Andy (San Antonio): Coach, during the Spring Game, it looked like the splits among offensive linemen were much wider than in the past. It also looked like the line was a little more porous than you would probably like, but I heard that rules prohibiting cut blocks might have been a factor. Can you provide a little insight on what is really changing with the O-line, and are they progressing at a suitable pace? Do the wider splits just reflect the "spread" in spread offense, or do you really anticipate more athleticism and movement from the line? |
| | Guy Morriss: The wide splits are basically to create passing lanes. The starting five played pretty well Saturday, it was the backups that were porous. What's changing is we've gone to a vertical set for pass protection purposes, which is a fairly new concept to our offensive linemen. Not many people teach it that way, so there are adjustments that need to be made. They are progressing at a very suitable pace. We're always trying to improve our athleticism all over the field. |
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| Brian Carroll, Irving: What is going to be the team's strongest position going into the 2006-07 season |
| | Guy Morriss: Secondary and wide receivers - skill positions. Great athletes and more depth. |
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| Bruce (Waco): I first want to say I think the team looked great in the spring game and throughout spring workouts and you are doing a great job. I noticed a great deal of non-scholarship athletes contributing to the new offense in the spring and looked quite impressive (Joe Bennett WR, Mario Price RB, Sam Sledge C, to name a few). Do any of the non-scholarship athletes have an opportunity to contribute in the fall or possibly be put on scholarship. Thanks Coach Morriss! Keep up the good work! Sic 'em! Bruce |
| | Guy Morriss: Every year we take a good, hard look at our walk-ons and generally if a kid can work his way on to the two-deep squad we'll reward them with a scholarship. And we try to help fifth-year seniors who have been loyal to the program. |
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| Dwain----Waco: You will be asked alot of questions concerning the current Baylor team; but my question concerns the past. Who are some of the former Baylor players that you remember playing against or with during your Pro years? |
| | Guy Morriss: I played with Richard Stevens and against Mike Singletary. That's off the top of my head. |
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| bubba: Airline and Wilson - how are they coming along? |
| | Guy Morriss: Both of them will be probably be starters. |
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| vernon,tx.: report on the young quarterback from wichita falls. |
| | Guy Morriss: He's a good athlete with a good arm and is learning the system. He has to do a better job with his decision making, that's just an experience factor. |
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| Doug (DFW): How much looking over the shoulder does Shawn Bell have to be concerned with this year? Seems to me he is our best chance to win, while not explosive he manages games well and gives you a conservative chance to win, plus he has more Big 12 experience than most/all QBs in our conference. Can we expect to eliminate the QB by commitee approach and establish some game day confidence for this kid? |
| | Guy Morriss: Shawn is our guy, he's a fifth-year senior, he's a good leader and we're counting on him. This is a system he should do well in and he had a good spring. |
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| Don T./dallas: David Gettis has not played football since high school. What kind of football shape will he be in, and do you still think he plays immediatley? thanks |
| | Guy Morriss: He'll be in tremendous shape - he's been running the quarter-mile all spring. He'll be here in late May and we've got all summer to get him comfortable catching the ball and learning the system. He will likely play immediately. |
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| Jay Ketel (Rapid City, SD): Coach Morriss, Which players who red-shirted during the 2005 season do you see having the greatest impact during the 2006 campaign? Did the team suffer any attrition during spring drills, either through major injuries or players leaving the program? Thanks and good luck in the upcoming season. |
| | Guy Morriss: Antonio Jones, Joe Pawelek, Jeremy Williams, Jordan Lake, Thad Boatner and Sam Sledge. M.T. Robinson was our only concern, he should be fine, but we're being cautious. |
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| Alexandro: With an expanded schedule do you see an opportunity for Baylor to expand on its 5 wins in 2005? |
| | Guy Morriss: That's the plan. We've got to get off to a good start and keep making improvement against our conference schedule. We switch out the north foes this year and two of those teams have new coaches. |
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| Chris (Houston): Coach, I understand you instituted boxing into the player's training program at some school in your coaching past and heard that you may do the same at Baylor. I like the idea, curious about the status (will it happen) and whether your thoughts were to improve stamina and intensity thru sparring, or just working on agility and feet work thru various boxing training exercises. |
| | Guy Morriss: I've certainly wanted to, but we haven't got it done yet. It improves your stamina, hand-eye coordination, your balance and overall toughness. |
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| David (Dallas): How are we doing in recruiting for next year. It seems that Texas and A&M already have a jump on the best recruits for next year. Did Baylor have a junior day? |
| | Guy Morriss: Yes, we had our junior day last Saturday and it was very well received. We had about 35 invitation-only recruits and their parents on campus. We just have to worka little harder than Texas and Texas A&M. We hit the road recruiting next week and I expect to see some commitments in June. |
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| Scott (Park Cities): Last year we had success moving the ball between the 20's, but we stalled in the 'green zone'; how do we /what are we doing to fix this? |
| | Guy Morriss: We switched our entire offense. It should make us more effective and efficient in the red zone and score more points. |
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| Chris (Houston): Coach, where would you like to see improvement over the summer for this spread offense to put up some numbers against TCU? |
| | Guy Morriss: I'd like to see our offensive linemen get as strong as possible and in the best condition possible - that will be the key. |
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| Trey Willis (Denton, TX): Coach Morriss, How has the special teams responded since the departure of Coach Nelson? Do you anticipate any major changes in the return game, or in the kicking game? |
| | Guy Morriss: We won't make any major changes. I think the kids have responded to Coach Lancaster in a very positive way and expect good production from our special teams this year. |
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| andy - overland park, ks: i am impressed that you are not taking shortcuts with the team and it development. what do you feel are your greatest accomplishments over your tenure. |
| | Guy Morriss: I think we've been able to end a lot of the negative streaks we inherited. Now, we've got to take the next step, get a winning record and go to a bowl. |
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| Scott (Garland): One of the newspaper articles mentioned that Jason Lamb got a sack from the DT position. I thought if he ever got moved to defense it would be at DE. Please comment on his transition. As of now where are he and Trey Bryant on the depth chart? |
| | Guy Morriss: His sack did come from the defensive end spot. The transition was made late in the spring, he shows promise and continues make progress at defensive end. As the end of spring, Lamb will back up at defensive end, Bryant is down the list at nose guard. |
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| Larry (Waco): Coach, last year you made it clear that a team goal was to make a bowl game, and we all saw how close we came to that. Are you emphasizing that as a goal again this year, or does it even go without saying? |
| | Guy Morriss: I think that always has to be our goal and be 12-0 at the end of the season. That will always be our goal. The players know how close they were last year and they've made a commitment to impoving from last year and accomplishing those goals. |
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| Jim (Dallas): Coach, In years past it seemed like we had relatively few serious battles for starting spots because of lack of quality depth. It was pretty easy to tell who the starters should be and who the backups were. Now it seems to me that we're starting to see more and more competition for starting spots due to our talent level improving. Do you agree with that perception? |
| | Guy Morriss: Absolutely, that's a recruiting goal each year is to get better and better. That's a sign that we're getting better. |
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| Matt (Richmond, TX): Coach, How do you like it now that you've gotten back to coaching a position? |
| | Guy Morriss: I'm thrilled and excited. It was a lot of fun this spring to be in the trenches with the guys. I believe it will help make us a better football team in the long run. It has helped me to refocus some of my energies, which is a good thing. I'm doing what I love - coaching. |
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| Shane Bell (China Springs, TX): Coach, have you seen improvement in your squad overall since your arrival in late 2002? |
| | Guy Morriss: Definitely, the special teams and defense have shown the most improvement and we hope the change in philosophy will help the offense catch up. |
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| Robert (Waco, TX): Coach it seems in the past Baylor has struggled to win. Do you see that as changing? |
| | Guy Morriss: I don't think you can count on Baylor as a "W" any more, but we must take the next step. |
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| Phillip (Paris, TX): Coach, if we do not make a bowl game this year will you resign and give up coaching? |
| | Guy Morriss: No, we're in this for the long haul. There's no quick fix in turning this program around, but I am confident that we are heading in the right direction. |
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| Chris-Colleyville: What kind of challenges are our players facing in learning the new offensive scheme? |
| | Guy Morriss: Different language, adjusting to two new coaches, better physical conditioning, faster pace, little more wide-open concept. The scheme itself is relatively simple based on tremendous reps. It allows you to become very good at a few things rather than mediocre at a lot of things. I felt like we were trying to do too much last year. |
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| | Guy Morriss: Thanks for your time. Have a great summer and we'll be back before fall camp starts. |
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